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Page 549
me something I desire so much that I cannot trust my judgment on whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. Are you really willing to come to Ireland with meafter all you have said against going? Is what you propose really safe for the children?"
"Yes, of that I am certain. I swear all will be well with Adam and Joanna, barring plague or some accident that is truly in God's hands," Alinor assured him fervently.
"And the other?"
"I am perhaps a little afraid," she replied slowly, "but"
"Then why do you insist upon coming? As you said yourself, it is a country all at war. Why"
"I can give you many reasons," Alinor interrupted. "I can tell you how it is less safe for me to be here where John might take me by stealth. I can explain that it would be wise for me to show myself on my Irish estates. I can suggest that if we were more together I might conceive an heir to your lands, which would add to the safety of Adam and Joanna as well as to our joy."
She paused, and Ian saw with considerable surprise that she was blushing hotly.
"Do you want the truth?" Alinor asked.
"Yes, I do," Ian insisted.
Alinor bit her lip. "I am coming because I am jealous," she said passionately. "Simon told me that Irish women are very beautiful. I am not going to let loose a face like yours among them. To couple a whore to satisfy a need is one thing, but I know you do not like whores. To woo an Irish lady is something else again. In Ireland I intend to be by you, to abate your lust and to watch what you do."
For a moment Ian was laughing too hard to answer, but finally he swept Alinor into his arms. "Madwoman," he gasped, kissing her again and again. "Madwoman, there can be no woman more beautiful than you." Then

 
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